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Average Reviewer Rating:

Number of Reviews:
40

( Displaying Reviews:
1 - 10 )

05/22/2009 - 05/27/2009

Reviewer: laslohollifield
Seattle, WA
May 28, 2009

While the hotel is very close to the main gate it was not worth sacrificing quality for convenience. Do not let website photos fool you, it is not as nice as it appears. As a point of reference I am comparing this with "cheaper" hotels like the Best Western and I was really only looking for a place to sleep.

We had a double "Queen" room, but as other reviews have stated, they are NOT queen beds. They were terribly old and lumpy with rock hard pillows. I think they put "feather beds" on top of their old matresses hoping to get a couple more years of use out of them, but it didn't work! You could certainly tell the matresses were old.

The room is very small compared to other hotels, absolutly no room to move around. Better suited for a couple than a family with two small children.

Phone and remote control did not work, shower was musty w/poor air circ. Air Cond. did not work well. Continental breakfast was beyond terrible, but I must admit the drip coffee wasn't bad.

The pool was small but the kids didn't care. But be aware, more than 5 or 6 kids and it will be too crowded.

Maid service was good but done very late in the day. The desk staff was professional and friendly.

Overall it was not bad enough to walk out, but it was certainly not good enough to return.

When looking for a bargain on a place to only rest my head I will go back to Best Western Park Place Inn.

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2-5 may, 2008

Reviewer: jMom
North Bay Area, CA
January 02, 2009

I stayed at Carousel Inn & Suites this past May with 5 other women. We stayed in a Resort Suite, which worked well for us all. It really helped a lot to have the two bathrooms. The room you walk into is a bit crowded, with two Q beds, TV, an armoire, & an armchair, but the inner BR is roomier, and you can close the door to it. We used the plugs in that room to recharge phones & camera batteries. The fridge is also located in the inner BR, along with another TV & a writing desk.

Lounging room was not needed because we were in the parks most of the time. There was only 1 car in our party and it did not move once it was parked. Half the time we took the elevator and the stairs the rest of the time. Often the stairs would beat the elevator. Hot water was never a problem. I think they limit the number of room keys you receive, however. Additional keys to a room will cost $5 a key, I think.

We thought the rooms were very nice & enjoyed our stay. The beds were comfortable, the rooms clean and the decor was updated and pleasant. On their website, if you click on their "Reservations" tab and click on "Resort Suite" (under the "Select a Room" section), it brings up multiple pictures, all of which look like the rooms we stayed in.

The front desk people were helpful and pleasant. There was a problem with another friend's room reservation, and they did what they could to make the best outcome possible.

We were not fans of the "free" breakfast and they charge you for internet access at their one computer station, which is located in the breakfast room and is unavailable when the breakfast room closes. Be aware of this if you plan to print out your plane boarding pass for your return trip. They do have free wifi, if you bring a laptop.

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Dec 3 - 8/08

Reviewer: mousecanuck
Kelowna, BC Canada
December 13, 2008

Standard 2 Queen-bed room, 2nd floor (211). Awesome location, good service. Continental breakfast was okay (not great, but all we needed to start our day). The room was smallish (no 'spread out' space) but again, all we needed (sleep!) Only complaint was the terrible ventilation in the bathroom - it would take all day to dry out after our showers. Shower curtains never seemed to keep the water in (and we actually showed our kids how to use them properly, tucked into the tub, to make sure they weren't just letting the water out all over). We couldn't put anything on the floor (clothes/pjs had to be hung on the door as the floor was always wet and not a chance our towels would dry out just hanging - had to get new ones every single day). Pool was small but heated (son & husband liked it). We were able to check in early which was appreciated but twice came back to get sweaters around 5:00 pm and they either hadn't done our room or were in the process (a bit late in the day I think but no worries). Staff were nice and really - Carousel was exactly as we'd heard and expected and wanted. And location location location - 110 steps to the crosswalk (husband counted) and 90 second walk from there to entrance gates - it was great - that alone made it worth the $600 for 5 nights!!!!!!!

1
out of
1
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10/19/08-10/23/08

Reviewer: seeker67
Riverbank, CA
November 05, 2008

Carousel Inn and Suites false advertises there standard rooms as having queen beds. Their beds are really full sized. The manager came to our room to measure the beds, and lo and behold... full sized beds.The manager claimed she had no idea, but after calling the hotel back after returning home, they still claim to have queen beds. That is so dishonest!!Anyone getting a standard room and being told that they're getting queens is really getting ripped off. Don't be fooled.

On top of all that, the AC didn't work, but was fixed. The mini fridge didn't work right the whole time, and froze our baby's milk solid. Someone came in when we were gone and urinated all over the toilet seat and left it that way. We never received enough towels or wash cloths, even after asking. The machinery on the roof made intermittant loud noises which woke us numerous times and scared our baby. There was grit in the tub, the shower leaked all over the floor and drained very slowly. The tv armoire doors were broken. The whole room was in disrepair.

When I talked to the staff about the beds they argued with me. If they were reputable at all they would have upgraded our room. They offered to give us an identical room or to pay for an upgrade. I decided not to throw good money after bad for a more expensive nightmare, and to take it up with the travel agent who booked this room as part of a package deal. This is still pending investigation. If it is not handled adequately, we will write them up to... and never use them again.

Being disabled it was a chore getting all of our luggage to our room, we were not offered any assistance whatsoever. The young blonde haired kid at the desk was rude.

Don't waste your money here. There are plenty of other hotels in the area that don't stoop to false advertising to book their rooms.

the only pro is that it is close to the park.

0
out of
3
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Jan. 1st - Jan. 5th. 2007

Reviewer: kbj01
Clovis, CA
July 25, 2007

We stayed at the Carousel Inn after doing some research on the closest hotels to the park entrance. Double queen room. We wished we had stayed somewhere else.

Good things about this hotel:

10 min. walk from your room to the Disneyland gates. I think this hotel is closer to the gates than the Disneyland Hotel is.

Bad Things:

Very Small roomsVery dated furnishingsVERY LOUD a/c window unit. We couldn't even run the thing at night (it kept us awake).HORRIBLE beds. I don't know how old the mattresses were, but I almost slept on the floor because I was so uncomfortable (huge sag in the middle of these beds).Very poor maid service (our room wasn't even serviced one day....really).

Only thing keeping me from rating this a "One Planet" is its location. Never staying there again.

4
out of
4
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March 1-3 2006

Reviewer: MermaidHair
Oakland, CA
September 04, 2006

We stayed in a 2 room suite and liked it very much. Walking distance to the resort and having an additional bedroom for the kids so we could stay up longer than them were our priorities and this fit the bill. The main room had a queen bed, end tables, sofa, coffee table desk, chair and armoire. It included a tv, mini fridge, microwave, and coffee maker. The sink and closet area could be closed off from the main room and was seperate from the toilet and tub/shower room. Off of the main area was the second bedroom with Queen bed, end tables, closet and an additional TV. My kids loved having a TV in their room!It was clean and the staff was nice and helpful. We really had no complaints. Our suite was at the back of the property on the second floor. We did not have any problems with noise from other guests. There was no elevator to our floor. This was not a problem for my strong hubby but could be for someone else so be warned. I actually got quite sick and spent more time than I intended in the hotel and it was totally fine - the more time you spend in a place the more time you have to see the good and bad things. I gave this hotel 4 planets with the understanding that it is really a motel-caliber establishment. It fully met my expectations but it was not a fancy hotel and never will be. We will definitely stay there again.

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August 12-15, 2006

Reviewer: Belle19
Littleton, CO
August 24, 2006

We stayed in a double Queen, standard room and to say the best about it, it was lacking. To start off, we arrived early and needed to store our luggage. We were given a key and directed to a storage room outside of the lobby and in a parking stall...there was no offer of assistance from the 2 guys that checked us in. (we were 2 females travelling) The luggage room was not air conditioned and didn't seem overly secure. (we found it open on our last day!) We had the front desk call us a cab to head to Knott's for the day. Our room was ready when we returned around 7:30pm and once again, we had to haul our luggage ourselves. The room was ok. The armoire that held the microwave and fridge was broken. We had a broken alarm clock that was replaced quickly and extra pillows and blankets were brought to us right away. The housekeeping is suspect and our carpet got wet spots in it through the night...I have no idea why. Needless to say, it was not a very well kept hotel. I will not be staying there again and I would advise you to stay away. We had a nice view of California Adventure and the Disneyland entrance was very close...that's about all of the positives I have regarding the Carousel Inn. Don't bother with the breakfast...it is not good.

2
out of
2
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July 24-27, 2006

Reviewer: FunMom
Honolulu, HI
August 19, 2006

Staff was particularly friendly and and helpful as could be. The location is great, especially when you're tired after walking all day, and the price is reasonable but....

We arrived and were informed that they had overbooked the hotel. We would be upgraded to a suite for only one night, but would have to move mid-day the following day. This meant that we had to get up early to pack up our suitcases before we got off to the park for park opening. We were worried that when we decided to go back to the hotel for our mid-day break, our new room might not be ready, but it WAS ready when we took a break and we were thankful for that. Inconvenient, but we could live with this.

What we had a hard time coping with was that the air conditioning was not functioning properly. Our room was still so warm after more than 1 hour that I knew we could not sleep well - and we planned to be in the park for 2 consecutive full days. We wanted a good night's sleep. They did send up a maintenance guy who discovered the filter was caked up. He cleaned that, and those who slept in that main room were not cool, but the temperature was manageable. Those sleeping in the bedroom of the suite found no improvement in their AC vent which was weakly blowing rather warm humid air and they were very uncomfortable.

We left the room joking that this was the one time in history that we were happy to leave a suite for a standard room. The standard room's AC was OK, but still it was not great and we could not cool the room as much as we would have liked. We were just relieved that all 4 of us could sleep alright.

The family we were traveling with checked in, and when they arrived at their room found the door wide open. The carpet was soaking wet, apparently due to carpet cleaning. Fortunately they were able to switch rooms.

The parking situation is manageable, but we found ourselves not wanting to leave the hotel in our car for fear that when we returned there might not be a space to park again. It does force you to think carefully about your plan for the day. This might solve itself when the construction is complete and the workers are no longer taking up spaces.

Also beware that as the hotel website advertises the Carousel as a luxury hotel, that statement is an huge exaggeration. Perhaps we were not in one of the renovated rooms - but neither room we stayed in appeared as well as their website photos. Still, the rooms are adequate.

Overall, we would stay there only if we were desperate. We concluded it is worth it (next time) to spend more at another adjacent hotel to have reliable AC and parking. Again, the staff is friendly, but it seems that operations of the hotel needs much improvement and the AC system needs an overhaul or replacement.

If this hotel has the last room this close to the park entrance within your budget, it is probably worth the convenience of location and the price. If you have other options in the same price range, I would recommend trying one of the other neighboring hotels instead.

1
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1
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July 31-August 2, 2006

Reviewer: backsthepack
Phoenix, Arizona
August 03, 2006

The rates are very good for this hotel, even when booked directly through them as versus Travelocity or Orbitz. The problem right now is construction on a new fast food place in the parking lot. This really limits access to the parking and you get to listen to construction while in your room (if you happen to get a room facing south as we did). The staff was friendly, but we did have some trouble checking in. We were told no early check in. Fine. We were told to come back at 3pm. Our room was still not ready at that point. We didn't get into our room until 4pm. I noticed other families hanging out in the lobby as well waiting. Once in our room it looked nice. It appears to have newer, upgraded furnishings. The cleaning wasn't great though. The sink was filled with some sort of black stuff (looked like ashes?). It was an easy clean though, no sense in calling the maids in. We were without wash cloths though and didn't get any until our last day there. I love the room set up with doors that close off the sink/bathroom area from the rest of the room. This makes it nice for added privacy while showering/dressing. The fact of having a fridge, microwave and coffee maker in the room is an added bonus. The last day there the maid service was lacking once again. When we came back to our room at almost 5pm it appeared our maid had left in a hurry. A pillow case was laying on the air conditioner unit. A used glass was sitting on the floor near the door as well as a little bit of trash. My only other complaint was that when we left, at check out, the service desk didn't ask if we enjoyed our stay...did we have any comments/complaints, nothing. Just asked me to sign the bill and gave me my receipt.

We would probably stay there again. The price and location are worth it.

We requested a high, standard room with a view of the park preferably not directly under the pool. We were assigned room 513. EXCELLENT! I particularly appreciated being able to pull the sliding doors out to close off the sink/dressing area. It allowed me to turn on lights and shower/dress etc then run down to the breakfast room to bring back and wake the rest of my family up with juice and coffee every morning. We took full advantage of the in-room safe (only $1.00 a day). Compared to the quotes we were getting from other hotels, it was very affordable ($89.00 per night). There was lots of space for the four of us. Our room was very clean, including the fridge, microwave and coffee maker. However, our fridge did not have a dial in it so we could turn it up and freeze our water in the freezer section so I called the main desk and within minutes the maintenance guy was at the door to check it out. As it turns out, he did not have another dial for us, so he just replaced the whole fridge! The next day the pool ran out of towels, so I went down to the front desk to get two for my kids. Before I could get back to my room, a very kind lady met me there with about 6 towels (still warm from the dryer!) Every time we walked into the front foyer, we were greeted with a warm, welcoming smile. If there was a lineup, someone still acknowledged me, and promised to be right with me. They were always ready to help us with directions to wherever we wanted to go. From the outside walkway/balcony, we could look into the California Adventure (wish we had binoculars!) but with my digital camera, I could zoom in on the Sun Wheel, Tower, Grizzly, etc. We could also check out the lineups at the gates as well as at the security tents. The breakfast room was just down from us and was fabulous, and we were prefectly satisfied every morning. They also keep the breakfast room open so that guests can sit and enjoy the fireworks (a better view than what we had in the park with way fewer people!) The only thing missing was the music, but once you hear it, you can remember it in your head! I found the staff all very very friendly, housekeeping, breakfast room, front desk, maintenance - every time you saw someone they greeted you with a smile which made me feel very welcome and safe there. I used the laundry facilities as well and they worked just fine. The location was great, and even with my two children in tow, it only took minutes to get to either park and no one complained about the walk. The kids enjoyed the pool on the rooftop (and I'm scared of heights). Although it's nothing fancy and not too big, it was a great way to cool off in those 100+ temperatures! I would definately recommend this hotel to anyone who would like to feel like they are at a 5 star hotel, but only want to pay the 3 star rate.

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